Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows<\/title><br \/>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Citrulline improves blood flow via nitric oxide. 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\/>\n<body><\/p>\n<article class=\"post\">\n<p class=\"eyebrow\">Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training<\/p>\n<h1>Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows<\/h1>\n<p class=\"dek\">Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lead\">Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. Once ingested, it converts to arginine and then to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the walls of blood vessels, widening them so more oxygen and nutrients reach working muscles.<\/p>\n<p>That process is where the training benefit sits. Better blood flow means muscles fatigue more slowly and recover faster between sets. In a study of 15 resistance-trained women, an 8g dose of citrulline malate taken an hour before training raised the number of reps completed on the bench press and leg press at 80 percent of one-rep max. The effect wasn’t even across the two lifts; a modest lift on the bench (about 4 percent more reps) and a much larger one on the legs (around 21 percent). Rated effort dropped on the upper-body work. A separate trial with masters-level female tennis players, average age 51, saw an 8g dose lift peak power on the Wingate cycle test and improve grip strength.<\/p>\n<div class=\"chart\">\n <svg viewBox=\"0 0 640 210\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Extra reps over placebo in resistance-trained women: bench press plus 3.6 percent, leg press plus 21 percent\">\n <g font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"11\" fill=\"#5f6468\">\n <line x1=\"150\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"150\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\"\/>\n <line x1=\"265\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"265\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"380\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"380\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"495\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"495\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"610\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"610\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <text x=\"150\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">0%<\/text>\n <text x=\"265\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">6<\/text>\n <text x=\"380\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">12<\/text>\n <text x=\"495\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">18<\/text>\n <text x=\"610\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">24<\/text>\n <text x=\"380\" y=\"202\" text-anchor=\"middle\">Extra reps vs placebo (%)<\/text>\n <\/g>\n <text x=\"138\" y=\"62\" text-anchor=\"end\" font-family=\"'Archivo',sans-serif\" font-size=\"13\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">Bench press<\/text>\n <rect x=\"150\" y=\"44\" width=\"69\" height=\"34\" rx=\"3\" fill=\"#b23a30\"\/>\n <text x=\"227\" y=\"66\" font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"12.5\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">+3.6%<\/text>\n <text x=\"138\" y=\"128\" text-anchor=\"end\" font-family=\"'Archivo',sans-serif\" font-size=\"13\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">Leg press<\/text>\n <rect x=\"150\" y=\"110\" width=\"402\" height=\"34\" rx=\"3\" fill=\"#1f7d68\"\/>\n <text x=\"560\" y=\"132\" font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"12.5\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">+21.0%<\/text>\n <\/svg><\/p>\n<p class=\"cap\">Total reps to failure, 6 sets at 80% 1RM, 8g citrulline malate vs placebo. Glenn et al. 2017, 15 resistance-trained women.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Soreness responds too. In trained men, 8g of citrulline malate cut muscle soreness by around 40 percent at 24 and 48 hours after training. No equivalent soreness trial has been run in women yet, so that figure is borrowed from male data ; but less soreness shortens the gap between hard sessions and makes consistent training easier to sustain.<\/p>\n<h2>For older women, the picture broadens<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond the gym, the benefit extends to the vascular system. In postmenopausal women with hypertension, daily citrulline blunted the surge in systolic blood pressure during physical stress by as much as 9 mmHg, and improved endothelial function: a measure of how well blood vessels respond to demand. Combined with resistance training, a 10g daily dose has added lean leg mass and leg strength over eight weeks. That matters because muscle loss and vascular stiffness both accelerate after menopause, and both feed into frailty and cardiovascular risk.<\/p>\n<div class=\"stats\">\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">\u22129 mmHg<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">Blunting of the stress-induced rise in aortic systolic pressure<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">+1.4%<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">Improvement in flow-mediated dilation (endothelial function)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">8 wks<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">To add leg lean mass & strength with resistance training<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h2>Not a rival to creatine<\/h2>\n<p>Citrulline is not a rival to creatine. Creatine supports the energy system used in short, hard efforts, topping up phosphocreatine stores in the muscle. Citrulline works on the delivery side, through blood flow and nitric oxide. The two sit alongside each other in a stack aimed at strength, endurance and recovery rather than competing for the same job.<\/p>\n<h2>The evidence, at a glance<\/h2>\n<div class=\"scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Study<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Who<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Dose<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Result<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Tested in<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Glenn 2017<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">15 trained women, 23 yrs<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>+21% leg-press & +3.6% bench reps; lower effort<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Glenn 2016<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">17 masters players, 51 yrs<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 grip strength & peak power; jump unchanged<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maharaj 2022<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">25 hypertensive PMW<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day, 4 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 endothelial function; lower resting pressure<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kang 2022<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">24 hypertensive PMW<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day + RT, 8 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 leg lean mass & strength<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dillon 2024<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">22 postmenopausal women<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day, 4 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u22129 mmHg blunting of stress BP rise<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>P\u00e9rez-Guisado 2010<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">41 men<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>\u221240% soreness; +~18% reps<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp m\">Men<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p class=\"cap\">PMW = postmenopausal women \u00b7 RT = resistance training. Of the claims in this post, every one except the soreness figure was measured directly in women.<\/p>\n<h2>How much, and when<\/h2>\n<p>Typical doses in the research sit at 6 to 10g of citrulline (in its L form) or 8g of citrulline malate, taken 60 minutes before training or once daily for vascular benefits. Across the postmenopausal trials, no adverse effects were reported.<\/p>\n<div class=\"scroll\">\n<table class=\"dose\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Goal<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Form & dose<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Timing<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Training performance<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g citrulline malate<\/td>\n<td>60 min pre-workout<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blood pressure \/ vascular<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">6\u201310g L-citrulline<\/td>\n<td>Once daily<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Muscle + vascular after menopause<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g L-citrulline<\/td>\n<td>Daily, with resistance training<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"foot\">Primary sources: Glenn et al. (<em>Eur J Nutr<\/em> 2017; <em>Eur J Sport Sci<\/em> 2016) \u00b7 P\u00e9rez-Guisado & Jakeman (<em>J Strength Cond Res<\/em> 2010) \u00b7 Maharaj et al. (<em>Nutrients<\/em> 2022) \u00b7 Kang et al. (<em>Nutrients<\/em> 2022) \u00b7 Dillon et al. (<em>Br J Nutr<\/em> 2024).<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/body><br \/>\n<\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women. Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41980142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women. 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Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","og_site_name":"Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlackBeltWhiteHat\/","article_published_time":"2026-09-30T07:04:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-04T15:28:00+00:00","author":"Dave","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MMATraining1980","twitter_site":"@MMATraining1980","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/"},"author":{"name":"Dave","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f009f75d478333ab9af4d98d1c2d03bd"},"headline":"Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows [2026]","datePublished":"2026-09-30T07:04:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-04T15:28:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/"},"wordCount":687,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","name":"Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - 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Even then, the team immediately sent a replacement. They were very responsive and professional throughout. Trustpilot reviews echo this reliability: one customer said they \u201conly ever had 1 problem\u2026and they went above and beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bodybuilding"","block_context":{"text":"Bodybuilding","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/bodybuilding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Z7T-dYaXKdo\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12847,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2022\/02\/12\/no-xplode-pre-workout-review-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":1},"title":"NO Xplode Pre Workout Review [2022]","author":"Dave","date":"February 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"hi so I bought the NO Xplode pre workout from amazon. It's pretty good, it contains adaptogens like ginseng and rhodiola rosea, choline for focus and beta alanine to buffer lactic acid. I would say, it's not like any old school pre workouts with ephedrine or dmaa - but you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bodybuilding"","block_context":{"text":"Bodybuilding","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/bodybuilding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/JSQ5Lg9XKbs\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2552,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2015\/01\/06\/study-of-the-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":2},"title":"Study of the Week","author":"Dave","date":"January 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It may mess with your bowels a bit, but perhaps in regards to Cardio Vascular health, it's good for you: http:\/\/archinte.jamanetwork.com\/article.aspx?articleid=2087877 Association Between Dietary Whole Grain Intake and Risk of MortalityTwo Large Prospective Studies in US Men and Women. \"These data indicate that higher whole grain consumption is associated with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fitness"","block_context":{"text":"Fitness","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/fitness\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2721,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2015\/03\/06\/exercise-for-depression-studies\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":3},"title":"Exercise for depression – studies","author":"Dave","date":"March 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Study 1 http:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/journals\/ccp\/55\/5\/748\/ We compared the effectiveness of an aerobic and nonaerobic exercise in the treatment of clinical depression in women. 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{"id":18119,"date":"2026-09-30T07:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T07:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/?p=18119"},"modified":"2026-11-04T15:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:28:00","slug":"18119","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","title":{"rendered":"Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows [2026]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nCitrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows<\/title><br \/>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Citrulline improves blood flow via nitric oxide. Here's what the research \u2014 most of it run in women \u2014 actually shows for strength, recovery and post-menopausal heart health.\">\n<link rel=\"preconnect\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\">\n<link rel=\"preconnect\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.gstatic.com\" crossorigin>\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Archivo:wght@500;600;700;800&family=Source+Serif+4:ital,wght@0,400;0,600;1,400&family=IBM+Plex+Mono:wght@400;500;600&display=swap\">\n<style>\n \/* ---- Locked palette: committed light look, immune to host theme via !important ---- *\/\n :root{\n --bg:#f3f4f1;\n --surface:#ffffff;\n --ink:#1b1d20;\n --muted:#5f6468;\n --hairline:#e3e4df;\n --accent:#b23a30; \/* arterial crimson *\/\n --women:#1f7d68; \/* confirmed in women *\/\n --f-display:\"Archivo\",\"Helvetica Neue\",Arial,sans-serif;\n --f-body:\"Source Serif 4\",Georgia,\"Times New Roman\",serif;\n --f-mono:\"IBM Plex Mono\",ui-monospace,Menlo,Consolas,monospace;\n }<\/p>\n<p> 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\/>\n<body><\/p>\n<article class=\"post\">\n<p class=\"eyebrow\">Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training<\/p>\n<h1>Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows<\/h1>\n<p class=\"dek\">Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lead\">Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. Once ingested, it converts to arginine and then to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the walls of blood vessels, widening them so more oxygen and nutrients reach working muscles.<\/p>\n<p>That process is where the training benefit sits. Better blood flow means muscles fatigue more slowly and recover faster between sets. In a study of 15 resistance-trained women, an 8g dose of citrulline malate taken an hour before training raised the number of reps completed on the bench press and leg press at 80 percent of one-rep max. The effect wasn’t even across the two lifts; a modest lift on the bench (about 4 percent more reps) and a much larger one on the legs (around 21 percent). Rated effort dropped on the upper-body work. A separate trial with masters-level female tennis players, average age 51, saw an 8g dose lift peak power on the Wingate cycle test and improve grip strength.<\/p>\n<div class=\"chart\">\n <svg viewBox=\"0 0 640 210\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Extra reps over placebo in resistance-trained women: bench press plus 3.6 percent, leg press plus 21 percent\">\n <g font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"11\" fill=\"#5f6468\">\n <line x1=\"150\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"150\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\"\/>\n <line x1=\"265\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"265\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"380\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"380\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"495\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"495\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <line x1=\"610\" y1=\"30\" x2=\"610\" y2=\"168\" stroke=\"#e3e4df\" stroke-dasharray=\"2 4\"\/>\n <text x=\"150\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">0%<\/text>\n <text x=\"265\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">6<\/text>\n <text x=\"380\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">12<\/text>\n <text x=\"495\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">18<\/text>\n <text x=\"610\" y=\"186\" text-anchor=\"middle\">24<\/text>\n <text x=\"380\" y=\"202\" text-anchor=\"middle\">Extra reps vs placebo (%)<\/text>\n <\/g>\n <text x=\"138\" y=\"62\" text-anchor=\"end\" font-family=\"'Archivo',sans-serif\" font-size=\"13\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">Bench press<\/text>\n <rect x=\"150\" y=\"44\" width=\"69\" height=\"34\" rx=\"3\" fill=\"#b23a30\"\/>\n <text x=\"227\" y=\"66\" font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"12.5\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">+3.6%<\/text>\n <text x=\"138\" y=\"128\" text-anchor=\"end\" font-family=\"'Archivo',sans-serif\" font-size=\"13\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">Leg press<\/text>\n <rect x=\"150\" y=\"110\" width=\"402\" height=\"34\" rx=\"3\" fill=\"#1f7d68\"\/>\n <text x=\"560\" y=\"132\" font-family=\"'IBM Plex Mono',monospace\" font-size=\"12.5\" font-weight=\"600\" fill=\"#1b1d20\">+21.0%<\/text>\n <\/svg><\/p>\n<p class=\"cap\">Total reps to failure, 6 sets at 80% 1RM, 8g citrulline malate vs placebo. Glenn et al. 2017, 15 resistance-trained women.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Soreness responds too. In trained men, 8g of citrulline malate cut muscle soreness by around 40 percent at 24 and 48 hours after training. No equivalent soreness trial has been run in women yet, so that figure is borrowed from male data ; but less soreness shortens the gap between hard sessions and makes consistent training easier to sustain.<\/p>\n<h2>For older women, the picture broadens<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond the gym, the benefit extends to the vascular system. In postmenopausal women with hypertension, daily citrulline blunted the surge in systolic blood pressure during physical stress by as much as 9 mmHg, and improved endothelial function: a measure of how well blood vessels respond to demand. Combined with resistance training, a 10g daily dose has added lean leg mass and leg strength over eight weeks. That matters because muscle loss and vascular stiffness both accelerate after menopause, and both feed into frailty and cardiovascular risk.<\/p>\n<div class=\"stats\">\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">\u22129 mmHg<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">Blunting of the stress-induced rise in aortic systolic pressure<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">+1.4%<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">Improvement in flow-mediated dilation (endothelial function)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"stat\">\n<div class=\"n\">8 wks<\/div>\n<div class=\"l\">To add leg lean mass & strength with resistance training<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h2>Not a rival to creatine<\/h2>\n<p>Citrulline is not a rival to creatine. Creatine supports the energy system used in short, hard efforts, topping up phosphocreatine stores in the muscle. Citrulline works on the delivery side, through blood flow and nitric oxide. The two sit alongside each other in a stack aimed at strength, endurance and recovery rather than competing for the same job.<\/p>\n<h2>The evidence, at a glance<\/h2>\n<div class=\"scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Study<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Who<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Dose<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Result<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Tested in<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Glenn 2017<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">15 trained women, 23 yrs<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>+21% leg-press & +3.6% bench reps; lower effort<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Glenn 2016<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">17 masters players, 51 yrs<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 grip strength & peak power; jump unchanged<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maharaj 2022<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">25 hypertensive PMW<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day, 4 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 endothelial function; lower resting pressure<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kang 2022<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">24 hypertensive PMW<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day + RT, 8 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u2191 leg lean mass & strength<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dillon 2024<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">22 postmenopausal women<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g\/day, 4 wks<\/td>\n<td>\u22129 mmHg blunting of stress BP rise<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp w\">Women<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>P\u00e9rez-Guisado 2010<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">41 men<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g, acute<\/td>\n<td>\u221240% soreness; +~18% reps<\/td>\n<td><span class=\"grp m\">Men<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p class=\"cap\">PMW = postmenopausal women \u00b7 RT = resistance training. Of the claims in this post, every one except the soreness figure was measured directly in women.<\/p>\n<h2>How much, and when<\/h2>\n<p>Typical doses in the research sit at 6 to 10g of citrulline (in its L form) or 8g of citrulline malate, taken 60 minutes before training or once daily for vascular benefits. Across the postmenopausal trials, no adverse effects were reported.<\/p>\n<div class=\"scroll\">\n<table class=\"dose\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Goal<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Form & dose<\/th>\n<th style=\"background:#edefe9 !important;color:#111111 !important\">Timing<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Training performance<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">8g citrulline malate<\/td>\n<td>60 min pre-workout<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blood pressure \/ vascular<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">6\u201310g L-citrulline<\/td>\n<td>Once daily<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Muscle + vascular after menopause<\/td>\n<td class=\"mono\">10g L-citrulline<\/td>\n<td>Daily, with resistance training<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"foot\">Primary sources: Glenn et al. (<em>Eur J Nutr<\/em> 2017; <em>Eur J Sport Sci<\/em> 2016) \u00b7 P\u00e9rez-Guisado & Jakeman (<em>J Strength Cond Res<\/em> 2010) \u00b7 Maharaj et al. (<em>Nutrients<\/em> 2022) \u00b7 Kang et al. (<em>Nutrients<\/em> 2022) \u00b7 Dillon et al. (<em>Br J Nutr<\/em> 2024).<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/body><br \/>\n<\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women. Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41980142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Supplements \u00b7 Women’s training Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows Better blood flow, slower fatigue, faster recovery – and a surprising amount of it was actually measured in women. 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Citrulline is an amino acid the body produces in small amounts and also gets from watermelon. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","og_site_name":"Fitness & MMA Blog - BlackBeltWhiteHat.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlackBeltWhiteHat\/","article_published_time":"2026-09-30T07:04:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-04T15:28:00+00:00","author":"Dave","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MMATraining1980","twitter_site":"@MMATraining1980","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/"},"author":{"name":"Dave","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f009f75d478333ab9af4d98d1c2d03bd"},"headline":"Citrulline and women’s fitness: what the research shows [2026]","datePublished":"2026-09-30T07:04:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-04T15:28:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/"},"wordCount":687,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/2026\/09\/30\/18119\/","name":"Citrulline and women's fitness: what the research shows [2026] - 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Even then, the team immediately sent a replacement. They were very responsive and professional throughout. Trustpilot reviews echo this reliability: one customer said they \u201conly ever had 1 problem\u2026and they went above and beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bodybuilding"","block_context":{"text":"Bodybuilding","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/bodybuilding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Z7T-dYaXKdo\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12847,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2022\/02\/12\/no-xplode-pre-workout-review-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":1},"title":"NO Xplode Pre Workout Review [2022]","author":"Dave","date":"February 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"hi so I bought the NO Xplode pre workout from amazon. It's pretty good, it contains adaptogens like ginseng and rhodiola rosea, choline for focus and beta alanine to buffer lactic acid. I would say, it's not like any old school pre workouts with ephedrine or dmaa - but you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bodybuilding"","block_context":{"text":"Bodybuilding","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/bodybuilding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/JSQ5Lg9XKbs\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2552,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2015\/01\/06\/study-of-the-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":2},"title":"Study of the Week","author":"Dave","date":"January 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It may mess with your bowels a bit, but perhaps in regards to Cardio Vascular health, it's good for you: http:\/\/archinte.jamanetwork.com\/article.aspx?articleid=2087877 Association Between Dietary Whole Grain Intake and Risk of MortalityTwo Large Prospective Studies in US Men and Women. \"These data indicate that higher whole grain consumption is associated with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fitness"","block_context":{"text":"Fitness","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/fitness\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2721,"url":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/2015\/03\/06\/exercise-for-depression-studies\/","url_meta":{"origin":18119,"position":3},"title":"Exercise for depression – studies","author":"Dave","date":"March 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Study 1 http:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/journals\/ccp\/55\/5\/748\/ We compared the effectiveness of an aerobic and nonaerobic exercise in the treatment of clinical depression in women. 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For years, no one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fitness"","block_context":{"text":"Fitness","link":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/category\/fitness\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41980142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18119"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18564,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119\/revisions\/18564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackbeltwhitehat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}